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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Tutorial: Peel Off Base Coat

I recently learned of this technique and while it is not my original idea I wanted to share a quick tutorial with you because it is just pure genius. Anyone who wears glitter nail polish will know what a pain in the behind it is to remove. Sure there are tricks to make it easier such as the foil method, but how great would it be to not have to soak your fingers in acetone? Essence recently came out with a peel off base coat which does just that. It didn't take long for those who tried it to notice that it bears a strange resemblance to craft glue... which leads me to this extremely cheap, simple and effective peel of base coat...

Supplies:

Elmer's School Glue (washable, safe, non-toxic)

Empty nail polish bottle

Polish of choice

Cuticle pusher (optional)

Steps:

Instructions:

Transfer some craft glue to an empty nail polish bottle and apply to clean bare nails as a base coat

Allow the glue to completely dry. It will turn clear (slightly matte) and be non-sticky to the touch

Apply any polish and topcoat as you normally would. Shown here is three coats of Shimmer Melissa with a topcoat.

Enjoy your manicure!

When you are ready to remove the polish, take a plastic cuticle pusher (or just use your other nails) and starting at the base of the nail and gently lift the edge

Continue to peel the polish off

Tada! Removing glitter polish has never been this easy. Wash hands to remove and remaining glue residue and you are done!

I will definitely be wearing glitter more often now! A little bit of waiting for the "base coat" to dry is nothing compared with the pain of glitter polish removal!

How long does it last?
That will depend on whether someone picks at their nails or not. Using the craft glue as a base coat will certainly not last as long as other base coats especially for those who pick at their nails. For those who are not pickers it can easily last for a few days. I've tried it a few times and it has lasted perfectly for a full day of wear until I chose to remove it. It easily survived through showers and dish washing which was my primary concern with a water based glue...

Is it safe?
Craft glue is safe and non-toxic. Children for generations have used this in schools, some I'm sure have even eaten it (although I would not recommend that). I will venture to say it is much safer than soaking your nails in acetone to remove glitter...

Really brings back childhood memories of putting glue on my hand and letting it dry just to peel it off later...

Have you tried this technique? Let me know what you think of this or if you have any questions! :)

UPDATE: Gina of Soguesswhat11 did a fantastic test wear video of this technique. Take a look to see how it holds up to days of wear compared to a regular base coat and even basecoat under glue!

Wow, that's a really great idea! I do have one question though. I have a bottle of nail polish that's basically completely empty, but how do I clean it out? I don't think that regular soap and water will work. Any tips?

Oh, this is sooo interesting, I will have to try it... Well, the name of the glue is not the same, but it is still common school glue (washable, safe and non-toxic), so I will give it a chance! :-)Great post! :-)

Thank you so much for all the comments! I know this glue technique is spreading like wildfire across blogs everywhere, but I thought it was too good not to share. Hopefully it was new for some of you :)

For the questions:@Ariel, you can clean it out with a little bit of nail polish remover or acetone. What I usually do is pour some acetone in the bottle, shake it up and pour it out into a disposable cup (don't want it down the drain). Repeat if needed until the polish bottle is clean. Stick the disposable cup outside (better yet do the cleaning outside) and let it evaporate then toss the cup :)

@Raggio di Luna, yes I've read other people using similar school glues. Does not have to be this brand :)

@annlayc, yes, definitely a top coat over the glitter! Once you the glue dries, polish your nails as you normally would :)

@thalie, the consistency was fine without water so I didn't try to dilute it. Hope it works for you undiluted :)

Please let me know if you have other questions! I'm more than happy to answer!

@Anonymous, I would love to know if this works for you better than the Essence basecoat! :)

@SheilaM, you can use regular polish over the glue and it works well also. Basecoat under the glue will not work as well since the basecoat will adhere to the nail and might pull of layers of nail when you try to peel it. Basecoat over the glue would probably work, but is not necessary since the blue is acting as the basecoat...

I don't wear gel polish so I can't really comment. Not sure how the curing process would affect the glue. So far the gel coat lasts well compared to regular base coats

pulling back on the nail plate like that can cause damage. Also NO it would not work with Gels. Gels are a completely different substance than polish. Gels build upon each layer and must be preparded with a cleaners and a ph balancing agent. If you skipped any step they would not last. Also best way I've found to remove glitter polishes is to buff with buffer to break the seal and then hold a lint free pad with remover on for a few seconds. This allows it time to absorb into the polish for easier removal. also using a proper basecoat aids in the removal process.

I like the sound of the glue idea, but I think I might try your hint for my mani this weekend because I have glitter strips and gold decals on my feature nails, and glitter over my normal polish on the other nails. I wasn't looking forward to removing my polish this week, but the effect I achieved with my mani this week was really, really worth it. Thanks for this tip, carriegirl.

@carriegirl, from my person experience the glue does not damage the nail. The only way I see damage happening is if someone digs into the nail when trying to remove it. If just pushing at the glue, it doesn't harm the nail.

And thank you for the information about the gel. It makes sense that this would not work with the curing process!

...and there's me, just after spending money on a random nail treatment base coat because I thought it might help me with being able to peel it off after! My three your old definitely has some ctaft glue somewhere!! Nail polish remover destroys my nails, so peel off polish would be brill, I could wear polish more than once a month! Thsnks for the tip!

@Trixie, the brush seems to be fine so far. I think as long as the glue is not drying up, the brush will be ok. If you are worried, you can always place a bit of glue on a disposable surface and use an art brush to apply the glue then wash the brush out each time :)

Ohhhh LOVE this idea. Does it work with other nail polishes as well? I'm so sensative to smells- especially nail polish removers and I would love this tecnique so much better if it would work even with thinner 'non glitter' nail polishes.

@jen jen, I have not tried it with any staining nail polish so I cannot answer for sure. I suspect that it might help. If you are brave, give it a try. If it doesn't work, try the stain removal trick... http://wackylaki.blogspot.com/2012/10/tutorial-tuesday-nail-polish-stain.htmlGood luck!

I have used this but my nails aren't "stticky" enough and so sometimes the glue beads back and leaves bald spots--I have to make sure that I have complete coverage or would obviously have problems peeling off later. I also have trouble with it "leveling," and it made for a bumpy final product. I think the glue I used was too runny--I may have to leave the cap off and let it dry out a bit!Regarding using on acrylics, I don't think it would peel off--my suggestion would be to try it with a couple coats of non-glitter polish and see if it peels. That way, if it doesn't peel, you can still remove it with non-acetone remover.For the record, first time I tried this, it wore fine for three days, was starting to chip, and then I went an spilled a Venti coffee on my desk. Cleanup was the death knell lol

How thick should the layer of glue be? I tried this the other day but it is barely peeling off. I also used an actual base coat as I thought the glue may damage my nail. Could that be the reason why it is not working properly?

@jillyin, the base coat under the glue is the problem. I won't peel off properly in that case. Take a look at the video (link at the bottom of the post) testing out this technique with and without a base coat. You can also see how thick it is applied there.

About Me

I am a self proclaimed craft nerd. I love all things crafty and will try just about any of it. Favorite hobbies include carving candles, decorating cakes, and making jewelry. In my free time, I love to play with nail polish! Questions/comments? Feel free to contact me at angalek@gmail.com